


Flying Blind

by fantasyworld



Category: One Piece
Genre: AU, Blind Character, Blindness, Friendship, Gen, whitebeard crew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 21:29:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2747762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantasyworld/pseuds/fantasyworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tumblr Prompt: What if Marco went blind? Or was born blind? What would happen? How would he cope with it along with his Devil Fruit? Will he still be able to fly? Would he doubt himself? If possible, how will it affect everyone else?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flying Blind

Nobody ever expected the one would-be fatal flaw of the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. He was always so confident in his abilities that the thought never crossed their minds. In fact, it had taken Ace well over a month to figure out that Marco couldn’t see him. He couldn’t see much of anything, and hadn’t been able to for as long as he could remember. 

“What’s it like?” Thatch had asked one day shortly after they had met each other. The best way Marco could describe sightlessness to a person with fully functional eyes was to explain that he could perceive a light source, but could not distinguish anything that was in the light. Thatch had made a remark of awe at how Marco had adapted, but Marco had simply shrugged in response. He had never had sight, so it was simply a matter of learning differently. The hard part had been when he’d eaten his Devil Fruit. 

Marco had been a member of the Whitebeard Pirates for nearly five years when he’d found a Devil Fruit in his loot after a particularly successful battle. After eating it, his crew had been the ones to describe the changes to him. He soon became known as the Phoenix, but he was a flightless bird. He knew he couldn’t fly, not without the ability to see where he was going. Otherwise, he would land in the middle of the ocean and that would be the end of the Phoenix. It wasn’t for another three months after eating his fruit that Thatch had again approached him. 

“You can’t stay cooped up here forever,” the easy-going man had stated. Marco frowned and leaned against the edge of the ship with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“If that’s meant to be another bird pun-” 

“It wasn’t, but I’m glad I said it now.” Marco could _hear_ the grin in Thatch’s tone. “But I’m serious. You have the power to _fly_ , Marco. You should use it.” 

“And not see where I’m going?” 

“Bats do it.” Marco punched the Fourth Division Commander’s shoulder and muttered for him to shut up. “You can find me well enough to hit me.” 

“Because you’re standing in front of me, idiot.” 

“You have excellent hearing. And I know you can use Kenbunshoku Haki, even if Busoshoku is your strong point.” 

“Drop it, Thatch.” 

Much to Marco’s endless irritation, Thatch didn’t heed his orders. Instead, the jovial commander pestered Marco endlessly in an attempt to get him to take to the skies. More than a few of his attempts included talks of the ‘natural order’ now that he was ‘part bird’. That had earned Thatch more than a few beatings. Marco only finally relented when Thatch made him another offer. 

“Let me fly with you,” he insisted. 

“You want to die too?” Marco retorted around the roll he’d swiped from the kitchens. “You’d burn anyway.” 

“Busoshoku Haki, remember? Come on, Marco. Give it a shot. I’ll be your eyes.” 

“You can’t hit the broad side of the ship!” 

“Trust me, Marco.” 

And that had really been all there was to it. Marco wasn’t sure why he’d even listened to Thatch. If anyone asked, he would just say it was to shut the other man up, but even he knew that wasn’t all there was to it. Deep down, Marco longed to test out his powers to their fullest extent. Why have them in the first place if he didn’t use them? A few short hours later, Marco had transformed into the blazing avian, and Thatch climbed onto his back. 

“You’re already a bird. It’ll come naturally to you,” the Fourth Division Commander teased. 

“Don’t make me drop you,” Marco drawled before taking to the sky. The moment he was in the air, Marco wondered why he had been so hesitant to do it in the first place. The wind whipping past his face felt incredible in a way that he’d never felt on the Moby Dick. Thatch clung tightly to him as he flew, but he paid little heed to the man save for the directions offered sparsely to keep him from veering too far off-track. Flying was liberating, and Marco knew that Thatch had been right in a sense. This feeling of freedom was something he had longed for his entire life, and was the reason he’d become a pirate. It felt natural; it felt _so right_. 

From that point on, Marco would frequently take to the skies with Thatch as his guide. The other commander never complained, loving the experience of being in the air as well, and continued to act as Marco’s sight until the phoenix could teach himself to navigate on his own. 

Marco never did get the chance to thank Thatch for freeing him.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear to God I didn't intend to make it turn sad at the end. The last sentence just hit me and I couldn't NOT include it. Also, I have a headcanon that Thatch constantly made bird jokes/puns just to piss of Marco on a regular basis.


End file.
